Urban oasis: Cayce’s Guignard Park is redone and reopened

An oasis in the middle of the asphalt is back up and running in Cayce.

Guignard Park, at the corner of Axtell and Knox-Abbott drives, hosted its grand re-opening Saturday.

The park had been closed more than seven months to undergo a face-lift.

Cayce Assistant City Manager Shaun Greenwood plays ping-pong on the new concrete table at Guignard Park, which officially re-opened Saturday following months of upgrades. (Photo by Terry Ward)

“It’s great to get it back,” said Cayce Mayor Elise Partin. She was on hand for the re-opening Saturday and played a ping-pong exhibition versus Cayce Councilwoman Tara Almond on the park’s new concrete ping-pong table.

At a covered picnic area of the park, members of the Cayce Woman’s Club and The Avenues Neighborhood Association served hot dogs and drinks to the happy park-users who could not wait to get back into the lush patch of greenery in the city.

“I use the park a lot and I’m glad to see it back,” said Pamme Eades, a member of the Woman’s Club and the Avenues Neighborhood Association. She said Guignard Park is a popular spot for dog-walking. And there were several dogs, with their owners, at Saturday’s event.

Almond said she was glad to see the improvements and also said she saw it is an example of progress being made in the city.

The park upgrade included redeveloping the parking lot and the pathways throughout the site. Creek stabilization, structure improvement, and washout correction were also parts of the improvement plan.

Photo by Terry Ward

The work was financed with water-conservation funds through the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. Some local tax resources were used, too.

Guignard Park sits adjacent to the new Tremont, a complex of more than 200 upscale apartments along the Congaree River.